Hot 'n' Healthy - No Excuses

Here in the Lowcountry, we are fortunate to be blessed with the beautiful outdoors. So, the next time you want to work out, get outside and be creative with your workout equipment. You can finds things laying around that you can use to train with. I am going to show you a good shoulder workout with a 5-gallon bucket.

Farmer’s walk

Fill your 5 gallon bucket with water about halfway. Use more or less water according to your fitness level. Hold it down at your side with one hand and begin walking in one direction. Set out to walk 25 yards or so. When you reach your turnaround point, switch hands and walk back to your start point. It is important that you remain erect and do not lean to counter the weight of the bucket. Tighten your core and remain tall. Also, the shoulder on the carrying side should not be in your ear. Keep it level.

OK, now let’s press the bucket over our head. If we get a splash, enjoy! To perform this exercise, lift the bucket from the ground grasping the bottom on either side. As you lift the bucket towards your head, rotate your hands so that the bucket is resting on the palms of your hands. Now, begin the lift by pushing the bucket up with your arms. Tighten your core to ensure you do not arch your back while pressing up with the bucket. Remain tall with knees about shoulder width apart and slightly bent.

Front raises

Now, let’s go ahead and finish off your shoulders. Dump some of the water out to make it lighter. Hold the bucket with both hands and palms facing your body. Stand in a good athletic stance with knees slightly bent and feet shoulder width apart. While keeping your arms straight and elbows slightly bent, raise the bucket out in front of you. Bring your arms up until they are parallel with the ground. Lower the bucket slowly to the starting position.

This is a very intense shoulder workout so do as many repetitions as you can. Challenge yourself without overdoing it.

I hope you have enjoyed Mother Nature while performing your exercises. Remember you cannot make any excuses about not having equipment to work out with; just see what’s lying around.

FITBIT

Do you feel tired, burnt out and unmotivated even though you are exercising daily? This can be a sign of overtraining. Overtraining can occur when you do too much too soon or you are not giving your body enough time to rest and repair. In order to see the best results from your exercise effort, it is important to allow adequate rest between sessions. Also, your body may be bored with what you are doing. Mix things up a bit in your workout routine. This will surprise your body and help to facilitate more adaptations. Most of all, listen to your body, it will tell you what it needs.